The Grid Leak
April - May - June
2015
www.hvra.org
(Color GL on web site)
Inside —
 From the President
 Club events/ announcements
 2015 Convention Report
 Grid
2015Leak—
Old Equipment Contest Results
The
 HVRA Schedule
 Fossilized Dinosaur Roar
Alvin Swap Meet
May 23, 2015
Details Inside
From The Prez…….
Bill Werzner ,
HVRA President
At the bench
With the winter now in its final days – regardless of
ground hog predictions, springtime is nigh and it’s time
to both reflect and look forward. New Year activities
began with our annual post holiday party at the Monument Inn on January 3. With over fifty in attendance it
was a fun filled evening that began with a wonderful dinner followed by the annual donation auction and door
prizes to those with winning tickets. Again, the spirit of
volunteerism came through for another successful endeavor. Many thanks to all who donated items for the
auction, purchased door prizes, and spent time preparing for the event weeks in advance. Shall we do it again
next year? Let us know soon so we can get reservations
in soon as things tend to book up a year or more ahead
and January 2, 2016 could offer some tight on site competition for us.
From my perspective, our 36th anniversary convention
was a resounding success. This would have been impossible to achieve without the dedication and perseverance of our members and spouses who also stepped up
to help. Special thanks go to HVRA Vice President,
Jerry Sirkin who devoted countless hours planning, organizing, and chairing the convention. Kudos Jerry, for a
HVRA Monthly Meeting Contests:
Here is your chance to show your stuff and win a prize for
your effort. At Large Board Member, Reid Shipp has
planned contests for the next three regular scheduled
monthly meetings. Each contestant will be allowed ten
minutes to explain and demonstrate their project prior to
the meeting auction. Winners are chosen by non contestant member votes. All contestants must be HVRA members in good standing in order to participate.
June Contest: A musical instrument contest including
any home built musical instrument.
Sept. Contest: Any home built from scratch amplifier.
This is not restricted to audio amplifiers, but may be RF,
servo.,etc. including solid state, tube, or anything else.
Oct. Contest: Golden ears guitar amplifier contest –
tube or solid state. The same electric guitar and speaker
will be used for all listening. Amplifiers must be home built
by the contestant.
The Grid Leak— 2
job well done! I don’t know how we could have
done it without you. We also want to express our
sincere gratitude to the wonderful Marriott staff for
their superb cooperation and hospitality. We look
forward to being your guests again next year.
As we swing into spring, here are some of the activities that await us: Basic electronics classes will
resume in April with monthly lessons presented on
HVRA’s web site to run in monthly cycles. Regular
monthly meetings will be held in March and April,
then in May we have the annual Alvin, TX swap
meet. Our mid- summer mega auction will be held
in Texas City in July and other public events yet to
be announced may be waiting just over the horizon. As special events arise, such as museum
shows, exhibits, guest lectures, or possible estate
sales; we may be calling on you again for your help
and support as you are the life blood of this organization. Thank you all again, and God Bless!
Summer Mega Auction
July 18
Texas City
Once again we will return to the Doyle Convention
Center in Texas City during the annual Tidelands
Amateur Radio Society event .
This year we will publish an auction manifest in
advance of the July date.
Now is the time to begin rounding up those extra
items.
Send lists and photos to
[email protected].
We are expecting a load of WW II surplus electronics and will keep you updated on our web site
as things progress.
Basic Electronics Classes
Alvin Texas Swap Meet May 23
April 11 Class #1
“Introduction to Electronics”
This includes basic theory, electrical power, AC, DC,
and test instruments, with emphasis on resistors and
resistance circuits and how they relate to diagnosing
and repairing basic radio circuits. A test (open book) will
follow the lesson. Bring a copy of the test to the next
regular meeting for review.
HVRA member Mike Payne will once again open the gates
in Alvin, TX for all to participate in the annual swap meet.
May 16 Class #2
“Introduction to Capacitors”
Class 2 will deal with capacitor function, identification,
types – polarized and non-polarized, testing, capacitor
ratings, and how they function in radio circuits. An open
book test will follow so bring a copy of the test to the
next regular meeting for review.
June 13 Class #3
“Introduction to Coils and Transformers”
This class will include basic transformer theory, step up
and step down transformers, power transformers, output
transformers, choke coils, i.f. transformers, etc. Troubleshooting transformer and coil problems in basic radio
circuits will be included. Bring copy of test to next regular meeting for review and to have any questions answered.
July 11 Class#4
“Vacuum Tubes”
Now that resistors, capacitors, and coils have been covered, the next chapter will deal with vacuum tubes. This
will include their basic function, applications, how to test
them, and an introduction to rectification, detection, biasing, and amplification. At this point we will begin with
an introduction to how the basic five tube radio known
as the “All American Five” operates along with trouble
shooting methods and basic alignment techniques.
If you have never participated in one of Mike’s swap meets,
you have been missing it BIG TIME!
Mike’s place is easy to find and the facilities are ideal for a
swap meet of the magnitude that this should be. If you are
a HAM, a collector, dumpster diver, restorer, or whatever
you’ll surly enjoy seeing Mike’s fantastic collections of everything electronic imaginable.
Gates will open for all at 8 AM.
To get there take Highway 288 South from the I-610 Loop
in Houston. Turn left on to Texas Highway 6 and drive to
Alvin. In Alvin, turn right on N. Gordon St. (which is also
Highway 35), cross the railroad tracks go several blocks,
then turn right on Coombs St. At the second intersection
turn left on Taylor St. and you are there at 803 S. Taylor.
Basic Electronic Classes
to be Posted
On HVRA web site
hvra.org
The classes will be posted on the HVRA web site as
close to the planned dates as possible. There may be
instances where postings may be delayed for a few days
due to our busy schedules, so please bear with us!
Each class will conclude with how its material relates to
diagnosing and repairing actual radio problems encountered in a simple five tube AM radio. That radio schematic will be presented in class #1 and will carry through
future classes as we get into radio theory and trouble
shooting from antenna to speaker.
After we master the “All American Five”, we will advance
into the more complex power transformer sets, multi
band receivers, three way receivers, FM, mono and stereo amplifiers, and solid state (transistors).
Along the way, starting with class #1 you will be introduced to tools and test equipment relevant to that particular class. We have several volt ohm meters that were
donated that are free for the asking.
As classes progress there will be hands on programs
during our monthly meetings to demonstrate the use of a
signal generator, signal tracer, and oscilloscope to use in
troubleshooting.
Steve Scheel’s Harman Karon Citation I & II, won first
place in the Hi-Fi contest catagory
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Share this information with others including students
from junior high on up, hobbyists, tinkerers, or those who
may wish to advance their job skills. You don’t need to
master calculus as nothing beyond 8th grade math is
necessary, – we keep it simple, and make it enjoyable as
we did a decade ago; but now it’s on the computer.
2015 HVRA Convention in Review
Jerry Sirkin
The 36th HVRA Annual Convention was held February 13th
and 14th at the newly renovated Marriott Hotel, 11th year at
this Greenspoint location. Traveling from far, Long Beach,
MS and Bartlesville, OK, the mild weather was certainly helpful allowing approx. 125 attendees and families to enjoy the
auctions, technical sessions, old equipment contest and banquet.
Auctions are the biggest draw to the convention. This year
we were able to supplement the sales with the addition of 7
radios (6 Catalin and 1 Bluebird) for gross sales of
$14,900.00. Thanks go out to Bill Werzner for his forward
thinking and Susan and Derek Ross for the photography and
publicity. While Jim Sargent auctioned off each of these Art
Deco radios, Bill and Derek wrapped and packed each to
keep them safe and secure until the winning bidders could
take possession. Including the Catalin/Sparton radios, the
auctions produced 596 lots (40 sellers on Fri., 44 sellers on
Sat.); 541 were sold to 48 buyers on Fri. and 42 on Sat., for
total of $29,628.00. We hope everyone found success as a
buyer or seller.
assist at all the events. We extend a big THANK YOU
Jeff Heller, Dianna Taylor, Vera Palmer, Elaine Moore and
Lois Janssen for their help at the registration table (special
thanks to Lois for keeping us on the “straight and narrow”); Bill Werzner and Jim Sargent for auctioneering
activities; auction handlers Reid Shipp, Jimmie Stewart,
Derek Ross, Abedalla Soliman, Mike Slovan and Konrad
Werzner (many others behind the scene); Tom Taylor,
Kathy Botto, June Clark, Vera Palmer and Jeff Heller for
their work with the auction records and payouts; and to
Judy Potter, Mike Monsour, Gilbert Hedge, David and
Elaine Moore, Lance and Chris Borden, Randy James,
Jim Sargent, John Schmidt and Pat Zapalac, for their help
at the equipment contest. I apologize if I omitted anyone.
Last few stats: HVRA picked up 7 new members; out of
town guests occupied 65 guest rooms; Saturday cash
concession was a success (>70 purchasers).
Prior to the Friday auction, members attended three Technical Sessions. Many thanks to Tom Taylor (Capacitors),
George Potter (Watterson Radio History) and Chris Varela
(Early Houston Radio History) for their hard work preparing
material that kept the Tech. session room full to the max.
Prior to the two day auctions, members were able to participate and enjoy seeing the superb old equipment contest
items. See separate report by Lance Borden for details. Big
thanks go out to Lance Borden, David Moore and all the volunteers and judges taking their time to make this contest a
success.
We had four members supplying items at the swap meet. We
hope you had time walk through and visit.
The Saturday evening Awards Banquet was attended by 55
adults and 2 children. Our guest speaker, Gilbert Hedge,
spoke about radio collection preservation and entertained us
with jokes and imitations. All guests left the banquet with
positive comments about Gilbert’s presentation.
Many guests received door prizes supplied by HVRA (thanks
to the Borden and Hedge families for shopping for the gifts).
Thanks go to Bill Werzner for supplying the restored Transoceanic radio awarded to Gilbert as guest speaker.
In addition to the activities, attendees were able to purchase
HVRA caps and CDs as well as copies of Gilbert’s recently
published Early History Zenith Radios. Gilbert also donated
one copy to HVRA for a Saturday Raffle. Along with the
book, raffle tickets also included a chance to win a beautifully
1933 Crosley Cathedral radio restored by Bill Werzner.
The success of any convention is usually carried on the
backs of the many volunteers taking their personal time to
The Grid Leak— 4
Gilbert Hedge got everyone’s attention with a Johnny
Carson impersonation to open his presentation on
Radio Collections Preservation.
(ed. Great job, kudos)
Man’s Gold Ring Found
A ring was found at a recent monthly meeting. Several
announcements were made at the meetings without anyone
coming forward to claim it. If you are missing a man’s
gold ring, contact Bill Werzner, 713-820-1778
Auction Highlights - 2015
1939 Motorola -
- $3
High bid
Model 51X16 “S
Grill”
High bid - $2900
,600
High bid - $2100
Photos by Susan Ross
High bid - $2800
1
o
osley M
938 Cr
del G 1
465
1947 F
ADA - M
odel 845
High bid
1946 Bendix - Model 526 - Green
High bid - $1200
The Grid Leak— 5
High bid - $1400
$900
Old Equipment Contest - 2015
Best of Show and People’s Choice Awards
World War II Display
Art and June Clark
Watterson Radio
Manufacturer Category for 2015 was
Watterson Radio. Two beautifully
restored Watterson radios with photo
support was awarded the Best Restoration entered by Lynn Palmer and
Family.
The Grid Leak— 6
Foreign Radio -- Winner
Volksenpfanger Display by Charles Sharpless
Four Peoples Radio of World War II
BC-611 (SCR 536) Display (Lance Borden);
1923 Operadio (Gilbert Hedge)
CRL Paragon (Bob Botto)
The Grid Leak— 7
Radiola 28 w/100 A Spkr (Bernard Sampson)
The 2015 HVRA Old Equipment Contest Was A Great Success!
By Lance Borden, WB5REX
The featured manufacturer for this year’s Old Equipment
Contest was Watterson. Watterson has been in the radio
business since 1933. The Watterson Company is still
alive today as the J. W. Davis & Company. Located in
Dallas, Texas; they are manufacturers and distributors of
commercial audio, security, and other products. They
are located at 3030 Canton Street, Dallas, Texas 75226.
Their website is: http://www.jwd.com
In this year’s contest there were 47 entries in 22 categories by a total of 21 contestants. This is an increase over
last year’s contest which had 29 entries in 21 categories
by a total of 16 contestants.
The winners of the Best of Show Award were Art and June
Clark with their World War II Display. The winners of the Best
Restoration were The Lynn Palmer Family with their Watterson
Display. The Peoples Choice award went to Art and June Clark
their World War II Display.
There were several outstanding displays and the judges commented that it was very difficult to select the winners of the various awards.
The Contest Judges were: Randy James, Dave Moore, Jim
Sargent, John Schmidt, and Pat Zapalac.
The Contest Helpers were: Gilbert Hedge, Michael Monsour,
Dave Moore, Elaine Moore, and Judy Potter.
2015 Old Equipment Contest Results
Best of Show:
Peoples Choice:
Best Restoration
World War II Display
World War II Display
Watterson Radio Display
1.
2.
3.
4.
Paragon/Chicago Radio Lab
Komsumal (Russian) xtral radio
Radiola 28 w/100A spk on stand
Gloritone 26
Wireless
Crystal Rec
1920 Battery Rec
Cathedral –
Tombstone – Consoles
5. Table Rec.
6. Transistor Rec
7. Reproducers
Microphones
8. Phonographs
9. Telegraph
10. Kit Radios
11. Scientific, Test Equipment
& Small Electrical Devices
12. Hi – Fi Equipment
13. Amateur
14. Military
15. Replicas & Vintage Style
Creations
16. TV
17. Portables
18. Ugly Radios
19. Foreign Radios
20. Manufacturers Cat.
Watterson
21. Theme – WW II
22. Open
The Grid Leak— 8
Art & June Clark
Art & June Clark
Lynn Palmer & Family
Bob Botto
Bernard Sampson
Bernard Sampson
John Schmitt
Zenith model 5724
Transistor Radios all w/external spk
David Moore
Bernard Sampson
Magnavox AC-2C amp & R38 horn
Columbia Graphophone B-eagle
Vibroplex “bug”
Superex DYN kit
Bob Botto
Bob Botto
Bob Botto
Bernard Sampson
Medcraft ECT Unit – Electroconvulsive
Harman Karon Citation I & II
Homebrew AM Transmitter
BC-611 (SCR-536) display
Lance Borden
Steve Scheel
Bill Werzner
Lance Borden
1940’s replica style radios
No entries
Operadio 1923 (restored)
Truetone D2637
Volksempfanger Display
John Schmitt
Watterson Models 78 and 4581 Display
World War II Display
Philmore radios display
Lynn Palmer & Family
Art & June Clark
Bernard Sampson
Gilbert Hedge
John Given
Charles Sharpless
2015 Convention Photos
Friendly folks greeted everyone at the convention:
(L-R) Dianna Taylor, Vera Palmer, Elaine Moore, & Lois Janssen.
Auctioneer and HVRA President, Bill Werzner looks
for the next bid with the assistance of Konrad Werzner
and Derek Ross.
George Potter presented a tech talk on
Watterson Radio Co. Watterson Radios
were manufactured in Dallas TX.
Taking a pause at the HVRA Awards BanquetThe Gilbert Hedge family.
L-R: Kacie, Ryan, Zoey, Shawn, Kayen, Chere, Gilbert
Author, Christopher Varela, “Kotton, Port, Rail Center” (KPRC)
presented updates to his 2004 book.. Many rare photos on display.
The Grid Leak— 9
Photos by Gilbert Hedge, David Moore, Roger Schermerhorn and Jerry Sirkin
Derek Ross stands guard over the catalins & Blue Bird
Saturday’s auction had
many exceptional radios - cathedrals, consoles, and highly desirable catalin radios and
a Sparton Blue Bird.
HVRA Officers
President:
VP
Secretary:
Treasury:
Historian:
At Large #1:
At Large #2:
Webmaster:
Grid Leak Ed.:
The Grid Leak— 10
Bill Werzner,
Jerry Sirkin,
Mike Monsour
Tom Taylor N5ACA,
Gilbert Hedge,
Reid Shipp WA5ARI,
Lance Borden WB5REX,
Derek Ross,
David Moore KF5FUM,
713-721-2242; [email protected]
281-844-4124; [email protected]
832-829-2227; [email protected]
281-996-5835; [email protected]
713-726-6964; [email protected]
281-943-9877
281-620-6692; [email protected]
832-483-9819; [email protected]
281-705-3402; [email protected]
HVRA Event Schedule:
Location for all events: Bayland Park Community Center,
6400 Bissonnet, Houston, TX Coffee & snacks available at
regular meetings - Pizza served at Board Meetings
Saturday, Mar. 28, 2015 Monthly meeting 9 AM, program and auction.
Tuesday, Apr.14, 2015 Monthly Board of Directors Meeting 6:30 PM,
Pizza served! Members welcome.
Saturday, Apr. 25, 2015 Monthly meeting 9 AM, Program, auction,
electronics class I review session,
Tuesday, May 12, 2015 Monthly Board of Directors Meeting 6:30 PM,
Pizza served! Members welcome.
Saturday, May 23, 2015 Annual Swap Meet 8 AM –
Michael Payne’s Place - Alvin TX. (No meeting at Bayland Center)
Saturday, June 6, 2015 ** BTARS - Battleship Texas Amateur Radio
Station will be on the air, 10 AM - 5:30 PM. Broadcasting from the
ship’s Ham Shack on the second deck.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015 Monthly Board of Directors Meeting 6:30 PM,
Pizza served! Members welcome.
Saturday, June 27, 2015 Monthly meeting 9 AM, Program, auction,
electronics class II review session,
Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Monthly Board of Directors Meeting 6:30 PM,
Pizza served! Members welcome
Saturday, July 18, 2015 Summer Mega Auction, Doyle Convention Center, Texas City, TX.
Saturday, June 25, 2015 Monthly meeting 9 AM, Program, auction,
electronics class III review session.
HVRA member and club Historian, Gilbert Hedge,
has written a book covering the table top Zenith
radios in great detail. Over 400 color photos, 200
diagrams. 256 pages.
Contact Gilbert Hedge for your personal autographed copy (713-726-6964). Or go to Antique
Radio Classified at www.antiqueradio.com
BTARS On The Air June 6
On June 6, the Battleship Texas Amateur Radio Station will be
on the air from the HAM station down on the second deck. If
you are a HAM, a HAM wannabe, or just an interested individual, you are invited to stop by for a visit. Each year this is a
very popular event with area HAMs who also transmit from one
of the ships original antennas. The ship opens at 10 AM and
closes at 5:30 PM daily. Contact Mike Brannan [email protected] KA5OAX for details.
FOSSILIZED DINOSAUR
ROAR FOUND
Dateline: April 1, 2015
Ugly Radio Winner
TrueTone D2637
John Given
MINOT, N.D.-- Wednesday, while digging for dinosaur bones,
paleontologists unearthed what experts believe to be the first find
of its kind.
It is a piece of fossilized palm leaf from the extinct Palmas Dimentias plant. This prehistoric plant had grooved leaves with
sharp spines like present-day cactus.
On close examination one graduate student noticed unusual
markings in one of the grooves that resembled the oscillations
that can be seen under magnification in a phonograph record
groove.
Dr. Kenneth Philbrick of the University of Minnesota, who was at
the “dig”, ran a computer scan of the fossil and performed an
audio playback through the laboratory speaker system at the
University of North Dakota Paleontology department.
A blood-curdling, animal-like roar was heard through the building
when the switch was thrown. Aimee Higgins, a student, said, “ It
was the most awful sound I’ve ever heard.” Dr. Emily Crenshaw,
a zoologist at the university, confirmed that, “the roar is definitely
reptilian, and judging from carbon-14 dating of the fossilized
palm leaf, must be at least 65 million years old.”
The Grid Leak— 11
Dr. Philbrick said,” We surmised that the recording was made, by
chance, when a Tyrannosaurus Rex was roaring as the wind
blew the spine from one of the plants along the groove in another’s leaf. The vibrations from the roar modulated the scratch
like a phonograph record.”
The Grid Leak
April - May - June 2015
Monthly Meeting— April 25
Bayland Park 9 AM (doors open @ 8 AM)
Alvin Swap Meeting - May 23
Mike Payne’s Place - Alvin Tx. 8:30 am
Monthly Meeting - June 27
Bayland Park 9 AM (doors open @ 8 AM)
www.hvra.org (Check out the fresh new look)
Notice on renewing your membership!
Please check the expiration date by your name in the address label.
The Grid Leak— 12
Saturday, May 23, 2015 - 8 AM
Mike Payne’s Place
Alvin TX